Thursday, October 19, 2023 | 6:00pm | McGovern’s Restaurant, Fall River, MA
You are invited to join us for the Deo Optimo Maximo Capital Campaign Annual Gala on Thursday, October 19, at 6:00pm at McGovern’s Restaurant in Fall River, Massachusetts! The Gala raises funds for the ongoing restoration of Saint Anne Shrine of Fall River. Please use this form to purchase tickets or sponsorships of the Gala. Thank you for your support of Saint Anne Shrine of Fall River!
Support the Gala.
Learn more about Saint Anne Shrine.
The Gala fundraises for the restoration of Saint Anne Shrine, an iconic landmark of southern Massachusetts. For the past hundred years, thousands of pilgrims have traveled to the Shrine for prayer, community, history, and beauty. Its location in the heart of downtown Fall River atop the hills make it an irreplaceable and visible institution for the neighborhood, the city, and southeastern Massachusetts.
The Shrine closed its doors in November 2018, due to dwindling parishioner numbers and great physical repairs. A group of laypeople – later dubbed the St. Anne’s Shrine Preservation Society – forged an agreement with the Diocese of Fall River to reopen this beloved place less than a year later. Since 2019, the Preservation Society has not only kept the Shrine open for public use, but dedicated great effort to restoring it.
So far, the Preservation Society has:
- Installed 4 sump pumps to control flooding in the lower church
- Built new concrete steps & railings near the parking lot
- Purchased & installed a new electronic carillon bell system
- Initiated roof & gutter repairs, including:
- reassessing damage for accurate, restorative repair
- replacing the copper ridge and slates
- clearing clogged downspouts
- Restored areas of the lower church, including:
- the St. Joseph Chapel
- the Santo Christo dos Milagres Chapel
- the lower church sacristy
The Preservation Society looks ahead to the future: the full restoration of Saint Anne Shrine of Fall River. Within the next year alone, this massive undertaking includes:
- Constructing a new chapel for Eucharistic adoration
- Completing the Dominican Crypt Chapel, where 3 of the Shrine’s Dominican directors are buried
- Continuing and completing major roof & gutter repairs on the north side of the building
We – the members of the Preservation Society – seek to be good stewards of the Shrine. But we cannot do this without your help.
Please support our effort to keep the doors of the Shrine open for years to come. The Gala is a perfect opportunity to contribute to this important duty. We owe it to the generations that built up the Shrine, as well as those who will come after us, to ensure its restoration. Act now and reserve your tickets or sponsorship for the Gala here.